The Avero Index

Avero Index October 2017 - San Francisco and Las Vegas Resilient in the Face of Adversity

The Avero Index tracks year-over-year same-store sales performance of restaurants representing different cuisines, venue types, and average checks, nationally and in several specific markets.

October 2017 Highlights:

After multiple natural disasters across the country including multiple hurricanes in the South of the country and devastating wild fires in Northern California, National restaurant sales grew this month 2.2%. This is particularly exciting for San Francisco where many worried the fires could decrease tourism during the peak of winery harvest in Northern California.

Avero Index: National, October 2017

Avero Index: San Francisco, October 2017

After a heartbreaking start to the month in Las Vegas, restaurants still saw a 2.2% growth in sales compared to last year. #VegasStrong Our resident Las Vegas expert, Adam Nesto, Senior Account Executive of Casinos & Nightlife says that “The continued growth in Las Vegas sales can be attributed to the growth in Vegas’ convention and conference industry. It’s likely that conferences scheduled in October couldn’t be rescheduled after the shooting, which is shown by the 6.8% growth in restaurants with >$90 average check. Fine dining restaurants typically see a bump whenever bigger conferences are in town. Las Vegas played host to the National Business Aviation Association, IMEX, and SEMAthis month. On the other hand, restaurants with an average check of <$90 saw no growth. This leads us to believe, leisure guests cancelled their plans to visit this month.” His assumption is confirmed by our Avero data as well as analysts tracking tourism in the area. In the long term, however, groups looking for conference space may move away from Las Vegas when choosing their venues. Las Vegas resorts should look to lowering prices on convention spaces as well as lowering ADR (Average Daily Rate) for the hotels’ room blocks.

Avero Index: Las Vegas by Average Check, October 2017

In the Mid-West, Chicago saw its 3rd consecutive month of positive year-over-year sales. Mark Braver, COO at Chicago-based Heisler Hospitality, explained that "We experienced unseasonably warm temperatures for the first 3 weeks of the month which kept diners and drinkers on restaurant sidewalk cafes and patios later into the season. The ability to fill the restaurant and take advantage of additional outdoor seats is completely weather dependent, and Chicagoans love to milk the limited outdoor time we have in a calendar year! That, coupled with the Chicago Cubs exiting the playoffs earlier created a notable increase in traffic over the same period last year when guests were hibernating and glued to their televisions."

Avero Index: Chicago, October 2017

New York City also saw an increase this month of 2.1%. Significantly strong dinner sales, 4.0%, outperformed poor breakfast and lunch sales, -7.7%. If you are an NYC restaurant and want to outperform your sales from last year, consider improving your breakfast and lunch sales to offer quicker options for guests on the go. For further ideas to remain competitive check out our previous article about lunch sales in NYC and read how our clients Union Square Hospitality Group and Momofukuare staying competitive with lunch sales.

Avero Index: New York City by Meal Period, October 2017

Take a look at these other cities that may be in your region. Check back next month for updates as we track these sales performance trends on an ongoing basis.

Avero Index: Atlanta, October 2017

Avero Index: Los Angeles, October 2017

Avero Index: Washington, D.C., October 2017

Updated through October 31, 2017

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